South Florida airports offering more healthy food

There's no need to eat junk food at airports anymore.

With passengers becoming more diet-conscious, South Florida's airports now offer sandwiches and salads filled with hummus, sprouts, spinach, carrots and other healthy stuff.

The items have appeared in just the past year, providing greater choices to those who prefer to eat in airports rather than pay for meals on planes.

"I'm not ever going to say it's going to be a gourmet experience," said Jan Norris, of West Palm Beach, a freelance food writer and a contributor to the Sun Sentinel's food section. "But airports are at least trying to give travelers options now."

Airport officials call healthy food a "growing trend."

It's "a response to customer demand," said Greg Chin, spokesman for Miami International Airport, which was recently ranked sixth among 15 major U.S. airports for offering "low-fat, high-fiber, cholesterol-free vegetarian" options.

The survey was conducted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit organization based in Washington that promotes preventive medicine and good nutrition.

Among the healthier offerings now available at local airports:

At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Chef Allen's 2 Go offers key lime tuna salad with plantain chips, a dish that includes organic mixed greens, tomato salsa and cilantro vinaigrette.

At Palm Beach International Airport, Rooney's Public House offers an Asian chicken salad with mixed greens, mandarin oranges, snow peas, noodles and spicy peanut dressing.

At Miami International, the Ice Box Caf? offers the Health Nut Sandwich, composed of hummus, sprouts, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes and spicy feta spread on multigrain bread.

Teresa Coholan of Boca Raton, a frequent flier, said that/ if there has been an improvement in airport food, she hasn't seen it yet ? at least at Fort Lauderdale.

"Once you go through security, there is nothing to eat at that airport," she said. "Everything else is pre-packaged, ice-cold sandwiches and stuff like that."

By comparison, she said that at Boston's Logan International Airport, "there are all kinds of restaurants past security. There's a big selection."

kkaye@tribune.com or 954-572-2085?

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-healthy-mia-food-20111230,0,6375148.story?track=rss

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